Addressing Common Checkout Issues Customers Face

I analyzed 150+ ecommerce checkouts this year including luxury giants Garmin, Michael Kors, and Tiffany. What’s shocking is that even billion-dollar brands are bleeding revenue at checkout through amateur mistakes. The forcing account creation before purchase is the #1 killer. My data shows brands offering guest checkout with optional account creation at confirmation seeing 25% higher completion rates without fail. Other costly checkout errors destroying your revenue: • Hiding order summaries (customers abandon when they can't verify purchases) • Cluttering pages with navigation bars (each unnecessary element drives drop-offs) • Using unconventional form fields (cognitive friction kills sales) • Lacking progress indicators (uncertainty breeds abandonment) The best checkout experience provides absolute clarity about where customers are in the process, eliminating hesitation and creating the confidence needed to complete the purchase. Remember: Every second your customer spends thinking is a second they might leave forever.

Most brands think their checkout friction is about tech Wrong It’s about all the stuff you decided before checkout that made the experience clunky Here’s where friction 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 starts: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 You’ve got a free shipping bar that only shows 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 I add something Or a discount code field that looks like it’s for people who know something I don’t Now I’m thinking, wait... should I go find a code? Every second I spend here = lower chance I convert 𝟮. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻 Create an account to continue  Why?  You just turned intent into a task Guest checkout should be the default unless you really have a valid reason to have it, and I do not care what you accounting or IT team said 𝟯. 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 This is a big one  You show: 3 shipping speeds or oprions 5 payment methods 5 upsells That’s friction You’re turning checkout into a quiz Default me into the 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 path Let me change it if I want But don’t ask me to configure everything 𝟰. 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱... 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 You tested on desktop But 78% of your traffic is mobile And your sticky Pay Now button overlaps with the Apple Pay modal Or worse... the CTA disappears unless you scroll That’s not mobile-optimized That’s mobile-neglected Oh, and if you tested mobile by resizing your screen or using dev tools…umm, that is not best practice. Far from it. Get your phone out and do it as your buyer would. 𝟱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 Let’s say I’m a new customer I’ve never bought from you You’re not on Amazon Do I see: Secure checkout badge? Trusted payment logos? Reinforcements about easy returns and/or exchanges. Reminders that a canceling your subscription is a click away. A visible returns policy at checkout? If not... you’re asking me to trust you 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 Want better conversion? Fix the journey before the final step That’s where the real leaks are

A client came to us frustrated. They had thousands of website visitors per day, yet their sales were flat. No matter how much they spent on ads or SEO, the revenue just wasn’t growing. The problem? Traffic isn’t the goal - conversions are. After diving into their analytics, we found several hidden conversion killers: A complicated checkout process – Too many steps and unnecessary fields were causing visitors to abandon their carts. Lack of trust signals – Customer reviews missing on cart page, unclear shipping and return policies, and missing security badges made potential buyers hesitate. Slow site speeds – A few-second delay was enough to make mobile users bounce before even seeing a product page. Weak calls to action – Generic "Buy Now" buttons weren’t compelling enough to drive action. Instead of just driving more traffic, we optimized their Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) strategy: ✔ Simplified the checkout process - fewer clicks, faster transactions. ✔ Improved customer testimonials and trust badges for credibility. ✔ Improved page load speeds, cutting bounce rates by 30%. ✔ Revamped CTAs with urgency and clear value propositions. The result? A 28% increase in sales - without spending a dollar more on traffic. More visitors don’t mean more revenue. Better user experience and conversion-focused strategies do. Does your ecommerce site have a traffic problem - or a conversion problem? #EcommerceGrowth #CRO #DigitalMarketing #ConversionOptimization #WebsiteOptimization #AbsoluteWeb

Client came to me with a 96% cart abandonment rate In a recent consultation, a client shared a serious challenge: 👉 They had just started running Facebook Ads with a modest £500 budget. 👉 Their Initiate Checkout results were solid at $2 per action. 👉 But the cart abandonment rate was a shocking 96-97%. With their product priced at just $10, there was barely any room for profit. Their passion for growth was clear, but the numbers were unsustainable. Here’s how we tackled the problem and turned things around: Key Issues Identified: 1️⃣ Trust Issues – No custom domain or optimized checkout experience made the site seem less credible. 2️⃣ Slow Website – Long load times and disconnected ad-to-page messaging disrupted the user journey. 3️⃣ Conversion Funnel Flaws – Sending users straight to checkout without enough product information or engagement. 4️⃣ Weak Ad Strategy – Over-reliance on a low-margin product and no upsell options to boost revenue. Our 3-Step Solution Step 1: We revamped the website: ◾ Secured a custom domain for better trust. ◾ Improved load times by compressing large images. ◾ Added a product details page for clarity before checkout. Step 2: We focused on creating a better conversion funnel ◾ Shifted from direct checkout to a multi-stage funnel. ◾ Launched video-based ads highlighting the product's solution. ◾ Retargeted high-engagement viewers (50%+ watched the video). ◾ Added upsell opportunities post-purchase to boost AOV (Average Order Value). Step 3: While making these changes, we paused high-budget campaigns and ran low-cost awareness ads to stay visible. This allowed us to: ◾ Fine-tune ad creatives for better consistency. ◾ Use heatmaps to identify why users were dropping off. The results? ◾ Reduced cart abandonment by solving trust and usability issues. ◾ Boosted AOV with strategic upsells and smarter pricing. ◾ Created a sustainable strategy to make the product profitable. Are you facing similar issues with your e-commerce growth? book a call with me (Link in Bio)